We were forecasted to get ample rain last night on through Wednesday so I was prepared to not get much done outside for a few days. I have more than enough stacked up on the todo list to keep me busy so wasn’t the least bit annoyed – and we really needed the rain.

  1. First off was going through my drawers and closet(s) to pass on all those unneeded (and no longer fit, since I’ve gotten healthy again) items.

    This was something long overdue. Actually, I should have done this years ago before we moved but in the haste to complete that massive ordeal, I just boxed it up and hauled it down here, where we had MORE room to store everything. It turns out, it was quite the purge and filled 3 large boxes of dress shirts and pants, used jeans (that are now too big), numerous golf shirts, a dozen or so tee shirts and 2 winter coats.

    We donate this to a community thrift shop in Summersville called “Open Door” and the local community (including the Amish) uses it extensively. Remember, Texas County, where we reside, is the poorest county in Missouri. However, none of its inhabitants realize that (or complain) and they just do what they gotta do to keep their heads above water. Sherry, who has volunteered at the Open Door since the area churches alternate running it a month at a time, said they’ll be excited to get so much “men” stuff, since guys down here (like myself) wear stuff until it falls off. I was delighted to hear they even want paint or greasy stained items as I had plenty of that and thought were destined to the rag bag. However, there were also several things that were brand new and never worn – still w/tags.

    Now completed, I have an entire empty drawer in my dresser and AMPLE space in the closet.
  2. In the process of the purge, we raised the ladder to the attic access to bring down our winter stuff, which prompted me to modify the access “door” above the hallway by the bathroom and basement stairs. This was simply a white board loosely holding batts of insulation on top that you slide to the side when you need to get up there. I’ve always meant to modify so as not to be so messy and hard to position correctly when you are done so I started the process of crafting a hinged access door that will not only look nicer but be much more practical to use.
  3. Next up was medical care for one of our hens with a broken leg (femer/thigh bone). We had tried to splint the bone previously, but she manages to tear that off and still hops around aggravating the injury with her bad leg sticking out at an awkward (and gross) angle. After some research, we determined we needed to immobilize her so she can’t keep working against her healing. Our solution was a whole body sling that we strung across a empty wire dog crate/kennel. The kennel also serves to protect her from other aggressive birds who will naturally prey upon the ones that are sick or injured. We already had her separated in the “infirmary”, where all birds reside when they aren’t 100% but in her desire to remain social, she’d try to hobble outside and talk to her mates through the fence.

    This time when we re-splinted her leg, instead of just splinting the thigh bone, we used a piece of scrap 14 gauge romex wire, bent into a natural angle for her leg and wrapped in gauze the whole way down to her ankle. This will keep her OFF that leg and also prevent any movement in that leg until it (hopefully) heals. She seems to appreciate her new digs. We pushed it up against the fence of the battered hens shelter and likely feels much better – even though she is immobilized. She’ll surely have a limp forever but her spirits remain good, she’s still eating and drinking and still (was) a regular egg producer so we’re hoping this will get her back on her feet – no pun intended.